Pro-Palestinian student protesters set up camp at U of T

Pro-Palestinian protesters moved onto a greenspace at the University of Toronto's downtown campus overnight Thursday, as the Israel-Hamas war nears its seven-month mark.

The group erected dozens of tents in the recently renovated King's College Circle. The area was previously fenced off in anticipation of convocation ceremonies set to take place in about a month, according to the university. 

The move comes as students at universities throughout North America have established their own protest encampments to demand an end to the ongoing war in Gaza. 

In a statement, student protestors at U of T said they are calling on the post-secondary institution to reveal a complete list of its endowment's investments and divest from assets that "sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine." They also demanded the school cut ties with Israeli academic institutions that operate within the occupied West Bank.

The students say the university's administration has ignored their concerns despite earlier demonstrations and attempts to engage.

"We're not looking for any empty words from the administration, we're not looking for any meetings that don't really get us anywhere," said Kalliopé Anvar McCall, a student participating in the demonstration. She said the encampment will remain until the demands are met "to the word."

"We're not leaving until we get that," she said.

Student Erin Mackey said the protesters have plenty of provisions and are prepared to stay as long as necessary.

"We have lots of supplies here. There are students and faculty who are supporting this. We will be here, we will continue to be here, we will continue to make these demands until our university divests from Israeli apartheid," she told CBC Toronto.

A spokesperson for U of T said students could face consequences for their participation in the protest.

"The university respects the rights of members of our community to assemble and protest within the limits of the law and U of T policies, but they must not interfere with the ability of students, faculty, librarians and staff to learn, teach, research and work on our campuses, or disrupt or impede other university activities," the spokesperson said.

"Our preference is to start with dialogue. Those who contravene university policy or the law risk the consequences set out in various laws and policies such as the code of student conduct, which could include suspension," they continued.

On Monday, administrators sent a campus-wide email warning students against trespassing on university property.

"U of T's lands and buildings are private property, though the University allows wide public access to them for authorized activities. Unauthorized activities such as encampments or the occupation of University buildings are considered trespassing," the email said.